Bulls vs. Heat Series From a Chicago Fan’s View

We’re about halfway through Round 2 of the 2013 NBA Playoffs and this is shaping up to be a very interesting round, indeed. In some cases, these series are just where everyone would expect: Spurs & Heat up 2-1. And in other cases, there are some disappointments brewing for the home court teams: New York and OKC, both down 2-1. I’m sure my BULLS team can identify with OKC since their circumstances (losing Westbrook to a serious injury in Round 1) seems to be affecting them like it did my team when they lost Rose in Game 1 against Philly last year during Round 1 of the playoffs. It’s heartbreaking, especially when you look at a player like Kevin Durant who is so great as a player and a person. He is so deserving of winning a championship! And personally, I would much prefer him taking it this year over Lebron. Ever since Lebron whored himself out to Miami because he didn’t think it was worth the hard work to stay with his hometown team to win a championship, I lost complete respect for him as a person. Yeah, he’s a fantastic player, the best in the league today, but his character is what I question. I doubt his loyalty AND his sincerity. He finally got his championship by departing under very ugly circumstances. And while he’s proved himself to be the best, I would love to see him knocked off of his pedestal. He doesn’t deserve another championship. When I was watching my team play their hearts out against Miami last night during Game 3, I began to wonder what had happened to the league’s statement that they would be coming down on flopping in games. Have ANY fines been handed down to any players this year??!! Hmmm. It seems the one player that gets away with the MOST flops is Lebron James! In fact, I think that instead of calling it flopping, we should start calling it Lebron-ing. Yeah, I think I’m about to start that trend. See for instance this interaction between our very mild-mannered teammate, Nazr Mohammed:

Nazr was pulled down to the ground by Lebron while Nazr tried to hard foul him to prevent James from getting an easy shot. Of course Nazr was pissed about Lebron throwing him to the floor. And not surprisingly Nazr came back and shoved his ass! But really look at this video. Do you really think Nazr pushed him so hard that Lebron flew back on his butt like that??!! I think not. That is just another case of Lebron…Lebron-ing! And he’s been doing it all year and especially against the hard defense of my Chicago BULLS!! I completely agree with Nate Robinson’s depiction of Lebron as “a good actor”. He’s a better player than that, right? Which is why it bothers me so much that he relies on such a wimpy tactic to get fouls called against my team. Why can’t he just play his game if he’s so damn great?? My boys are playing tough basketball & Lebron just can’t handle it. He truly is a Diva and I don’t mean that in a good way at all! My BULLS team is missing two key starters in Luol Deng & Kirk Hinrich because of illness & injury, respectively. And of course, they’ve played all year without Derrick Rose. And look what they’ve accomplished…5th in the East for the regular season, fought for & won Round 1 against Brooklyn in 7 games against ALL ODDS, & stole Game 1 of Round 2 against the Heat IN Miami. These are all things that NOBODY expected from them. And not only does that speak to the fabulous coaching of Tom Thibodeau, but it speaks VOLUMES of the players’ resilience, determination, & heart! They have been battling injuries & guys being out all year and they still believe they can beat anybody!! This is why I love my team so much. And what I find even more interesting is that they seem to hate the Heat just as much as I do. And probably for the very same reasons as I do. They’re FAKE!! They don’t have much character! And they can’t handle tough game play. Grow a pair, guys! The toughest guy on their team is Birdman and he was picked up late this season & probably won’t even be there next year, so he’s not a true diva. I never in a million years expected my boys to beat Miami in this series, but I always knew that they would fight hard and at least make a go of it. In their hearts, they want to beat them so badly. But with all the odds against them, they probably won’t be able to accomplish that. But boy do I applaud them for their efforts. They are the hardest working guys in the league and that’s evident! And for all the Rose critics out there. Do you really think that his return NOW in this very volatile series is wise?? Would you rather him come back and re-injure himself or wait till next year when he’s 100% both mentally and physically and ready to get back onto that championship path??? The playoffs are very intense as evidenced by all the injuries sustained by players like Westbrook and now Stephen Curry. I would love to see Rose playing, but I don’t think that now is the appropriate time. I do wish Thibs would use the same type of rotation he used in Game 7 against Brooklyn, by bringing in more bench players to give some much-needed rest to the 6 main guys he’s been playing. This has been a very physically & emotionally charged playoffs for them and it’s obviously taking a toll on the players. This was made most apparent in their defensive (and offensive) breakdown against Miami in the fourth quarter during Game 3. They kept the game very close all night up until the final 12 minutes. They just didn’t have enough juice to finish strong. I expect that there will be some adjustments made for Game 4 and I hope the results will be more positive for my boys. They deserve another win, especially in Chicago. The Heat do NOT deserve to get by this round easily. And I’m looking forward to seeing the controlled “punches” that my team will throw at these Lebron-ing fools!!